Upgrading from 16 gallon to 38 gallon reef tank.

[MBliss81]

Clowns seem to enjoy their temporary home.



The old tank and the new tank prior to starting the big move.



The good ol 16 gallon bow front.



The sand clouded up the tank for a few hours.



10 gallon temporary home for the fish and live rock while the new tank gets set up.



Milky water. 3 filters going full blast to clear things up.

 

[MBliss81]

Crystal clear and the fish are loving all the extra space to swim.

 

[carey]

Glad your fish are doing well after the move! Looks like you need some more rock now. LOL

 

[MBliss81]

Definitely need more rock. It's looking a little empty. Also needs better lighting. Half of the tank is under the cheap fluorescent light that came with the old tank. And the glass top and new Hydor Koralia nano 425 will be here next week. So it's a work in progress.

 

[MBliss81]

Added a green bubble tip anemone today. It’s in the corner for now. I’m assuming that it will move from that spot to somewhere with better light before long. I’m really really hoping that my clowns find it and decide to host it at some point.

Added young blue tang last week. This is the most enjoyable fish to watch! He eats super well. Swims all over the place when nobody is looking, but hides (like he is in the picture) in and behind the rocks when anyone comes in the room. And the way he pals around with my green chromis is fun to watch.

Still need to get a bunch more rock, but I’m going to have to wait until after the holidays for that.

I also got a sand-sifting starfish a week or two ago, and he is fun to watch when he comes out, too. He climbs the glass, or takes a few laps around the frogspawn. Since losing my diamond watchman goby there has been a major increase in the number of tiny little critters in the sand, and I’m really happy about that, so I’m not going to replace him with anything that will stop the progression of life in the sand.

I couldn’t be happier about the tank right now (except if the algae bloom from the new sand went away faster).

 

[TLTGF]

I will warn you, you will not get good reviews for your latest purchases... The tang is very likely to become stressed in such a small tank. Full grown need 180+ gallons... I hope that he doesn't get ich, and also that you have a plan for relocation sooner than later when he gets too big!

Also, your bubble tip is a beauty, but without phenomenal lighting you're already at a disadvantage. Also nem's typically need a much more established tank with very good water quality. If it dies it could nuke your tank, so please be advised.

Finally, I'm reading your signature and see a copper-banded butterfly... Do you have this or just planning? These are also hard fish to keep, I believe mainly due to the eating habits... Just a heads up!

Good Luck!

 

[MBliss81]

Changed my mind on the butterfly after researching (updated the signature as you wrote your reply).

Will have increased lighting in the coming months, but for now there is really good lighting on one side of the tank, and only ok lighting on the side the anemone is currently sitting (hence my expectation of movement).

Regarding the blue tang: mine is a very small blue tang, and be came from a smaller tank where he certainly was not as well off as he is now. He is very happy in this tank, but I do realize it is not sufficient size to house a full grown blue tang.

 

[TLTGF]

Sounds like you're on the path to success. I'm surely glad to hear that you are researching.

Keep the updates coming and I'll be following along!

 

[MBliss81]

Upgraded Lighting

My new 36” Coralife Aqualight just arrived, and it is such a HUGE IMPROVEMENT over the Marineland Double-Bright LED light I have been using. The coral looks so much better under the actinic lighting, as do the colors of my fish.

I’ll post some pics as soon as I get my weekly aquarium cleaning done, so it’s more presentable.

I still have some more changes, additions, upgrades to make in the next couple months, but this is a big step toward having the reef aquarium that I actually want to have (I’m paying the price for having gone small/cheap in the beginning).

Next upgrade: Coralife Super Skimmer Protein Skimmer, rated for tanks up to 65 gallons.

Followed by: PhosBan Aquarium Phosphate Reactor 150 with Seachem Purigen and SeaGel media.

Stay tuned...

 

[MBliss81]

Poor lighting and lack of a protein skimmer have led to a problem with cyano. I also haven't cleaned the glass in about a week and it's time for a water change. I'll post better pics once I do all of that.

 

[MBliss81]

Now that the glass is clean and you can see things a bit clearer.

 

[MBliss81]

 

[Leighton79]

Woo woo woo, I hear the tang police coming!

 

[MBliss81]

New Phosban Reactor 150 running 200ml NPX Bioplastics.




Still deciding which protein skimmer I want to buy. It's down to the AquaC Remora or Reef Octopus BH1000. Both cost around $200. I want to have one or the other installed within the next 3 weeks or so.

Any opinions on this equipment is appreciated.

 

[MBliss81]

Phosban reactor and bio pellets caused a major bacteria bloom (which I posted a different thread for), that lasted about 5 days. Luckily the only casualty was my sand-sifting sea star, and all the other fish and corals are fine.

Now the water is back to being clear, and I've learned that when adding NPX Bioplastics in a reactor, add a little bit at a time and work up to the amount you want to run slowly. I've also found that my clownfish have decided that my presence is no longer something they need to hide from all the time (a welcome change).

But the biggest development is the changes in my water quality with the reactor running: undetectable levels of nitrate (we'll see if it lasts or if it's just a side effect of all the bacteria that was in the tank for the past week). If it can keep my nitrate down to super low levels I'll be able to cut back on water changes in a big way.

I've also decided to order a Reef Octopus BH1000 h.o.b. protein skimmer this week. Hopefully I'll have it on the tank next week, and working with my new reactor to keep my water pristine. I'll definitely post updates.

 

[MBliss81]

Protein skimmer has been ordered! Next Monday my tank finally gets the filtration it deserves (and then some).

 

[MBliss81]

Found 3 new coral frags today. Anyone know what the bright yellow one is called? The others are a GSP frag and a green montipora frag.

 

[TLTGF]

Appears to be a goniopora - maybe mellow yellow?

 

[MBliss81]

I think you're right. I love the stuff! It's so much brighter than anything else in my tank!

 

[MBliss81]

My Reef Octopus BH1000 Protein Skimmer is supposed to arrive today. I’ll post some pics while I’m setting it up.